Tupouniua Veamatahau is happy to be back on dry land in 'Eua with his wife and two children after his three-day ordeal at sea, after he ran out of petrol and drifted away from the island he had almost reached.

The names of six men on board the fishing boat Losemani Fo'ou when it left Nuku'alofa on January 30 at around around 3:00pm in the afternoon, were confirmed by the Ports Master's Office in Nuku'alofa today. The rescue of the men at sea was filmed by passengers and crew on board the Albatros who sent in new photos of the rescue. "The ocean does not like carelessness," one told Matangi Tonga.

After leaving Nuku'alofa, passengers on the cruise ship Albatros witnessed the rescue of six Tongan fishermen from the distressed fishing boat Losemani Fo'ou yesterday afternoon in big swells south of Tonga. Photos by Dr. Gudrun Berger and others on the Albatros.

The Albatros cruise ship saved six men from a sinking fishing boat in southern Tongan waters this afternoon. The cruise ship bound for Auckland diverted 300km to find the fishermen who had not had water for three days and their boat, Losemani Fo'ou, was taking on water. The men will stay on the Albatros until it berths in Auckland on Monday evening.

A blaze engulfed an old timber house on Railway Road, Kolofo’ou, this morning, destroying the property within minutes. Hotspots that spread across the road to the Hilliard Memorial School property were extinguished. Tonga’s Fire Department urges caution, warning that fires can spread rapidly in Tongatapu's current hot, dry, windy weather.

A fire fighting operation at Tapuhia Landfill enters its 10th day today as firefighters attempt to put out remaining hotspots over the landfill's number 1 cell, after a fire that started on 21 December turned into a massive blaze on Christmas Day. Malakai Sika, CEO Waste Authority Ltd., stated this morning that the fire is under control but "the time to fully eliminate the fire is unknown at this stage". Rubbish collection operations are continuing, using another part of the landfill.

Tonga Fire Services has scaled down its operation at Tapuhia Waste Management Facility at Vaini, after a massive fire was contained yesterday. However, government issued warnings today for the public to stay clear of the smoke as toxic fumes are still being emitted from hot spots that remain.

Tongatapu's rubbish dump, the Tapuhia Landfill at Vaini, erupted into flames, burning furiously and sending a column of smoke towering over Nuku’alofa yesterday, Christmas Day. Tonga's firefighters today remain challenged by the biggest fire they have ever encountered, already trucking over half a million litres of water to the site, which is still smouldering and emitting toxic fumes.

Twenty-five participants joined an Emergency Shelter Kits Training from September 7-9 in Nuku'alofa aimed to build capacity on the use of emergency shelter during emergencies, disasters and recovery period.

Six Tongan crewmen are reported to be well and have been taken to land after the vessel they were on, MV Sitka, was stuck on a reef in Kadavu Island, Fiji during the weekend, due to mechanical problems.

Training for Tonga Police, Defence and airport staff aiming to better coordinate their responses in major operations - whether natural disasters or man-made emergencies - was held from July 20-21, at Police headquarters in Longolongo.

A missing boat with 11 people on board has returned to Nuku'alofa this evening after calling for assistance off 'Eueiki Island near Tongatapu. Some of the passengers were taken to Vaiola Hospital for observation and released, search and rescuers reported tonight.

Search and rescue operations today found no sightings of a small boat carrying 11 people including five children, that failed to arrive at Fonoifua Island in Ha'apai, after leaving Nuku'alofa on Monday afternoon. The first report from a New Zealand surveillance aircraft that searched the area this afternoon had no sightings but the aerial and sea search is continuing.

With more unseasonal heavy rain falling today in Tongatapu, homes in low lying and swamp areas in Kolomotu’a were flooded. Sio Tuiano, the Kolomotu’a Town Officer, who is concerned about the health risks of floodwaters contaminated with E.coli, said a few of the residents have taken shelter in an evacuation centre, but most people do not want to leave their homes.

Two classrooms were razed by a fire early this morning, Wednesday 20 April at Tonga Side School main campus in Nuku'alofa. An investigation by police and fire services is underway to determine the cause.